Wasteful or Wise? What to do with Mediocore Wine

Today was recycling day in my neighborhood, when all the bottles get dragged to the curb.

“I never had this many bottles to recycle until I met you,” my boyfriend commented. Was it an observation or a complaint? I wasn’t sure.

But I knew what he was referring to; it wasn’t just the wines that I tasted but all the bottles we opened to accompany dinner that often turned out to be (much) less than great. Not technically defective, just lacking in pleasure. And they came in various price ranges. Sometimes they were cheap – like the 2008 Cotes du Rhone we opened the other night and sometimes they were pricey – a 2007 Alexander Valley Cabernet from a well-known name.

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